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Coast Southwest is a leading full-service, chemical distribution and ingredient technology company. From six strategic locations, we serve manufacturers and formulators for personal care and household products throughout the United States with high-quality functional ingredients, on-time deliveries, and exceptional customer service.

Discover Coast Southwest

Coast Southwest was incorporated in 1985 in Placentia, CA as a regional distributor. Today the company serves customers across the U.S. and has expanded operations to six locations, including an innovation center for research and development in Arlington, TX.

Coast Southwest sponsors the California YBTC! Program, which enhances K-8 science education by introducing the science of chemistry as it relates to our everyday lives. The capstone of the program is the annual California YBTC Challenge.

We provide a wide range of preservative systems and solutions, from classic preservation to contemporary and custom solutions, specifically designed and refined to meet the ever-changing needs of today’s personal care market.

Oleochemicals

We offer a vast array of basic oleochemical products from the foremost producers around the world.

Coast Southwest provides sample formulas that chemists can use to develop a variety of applications, from leading- edge products that use the latest in ingredients and technologies to economy products for the mass market.

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The Innovation Blog

Highlighting the inventiveness and trends shaping our industry and its future.

4 Huge Spring Skincare Trends

4 Huge Spring Skincare Trends

The start of spring? It’s the perfect time for consumers to emerge from the doldrums of winter to refresh their skincare product stash and routines. This spring, there’s a flowering of fresh skincare trends, many of them revolving around lighter, brighter, more streamlined formulations that utilize multi-functional ingredients like glycolic acid to deliver fast, visible results.

Check out these 4 huge spring skincare trends that are teeing up to take the skincare world by storm:

#1 • Liquid chemical peels

Springtime is the perfect season for brightening and renewing skin with exfoliating treatments that slough off the last vestiges of dry, damaged winter skin. This spring, experts predict the hottest exfoliator products will be liquid chemical exfoliators that harness the powers of glycolic acid.

Formulated like a liquid cleanser or toner, liquid chemical peels are typically used like a face wash – but reveal the kind of fresh, healthy skin associated with a chemical peel performed in the doctor’s office.

The most buzzed-about new liquid chemical peel products all feature glycolic acid, thanks to the Alpha Hydroxy Acid’s stellar abilities to shed off dead skin cells, improve the skin’s natural exfoliation process, and drive healthy skin cells to the surface of the epidermis. Deemed one of the “Biggest Skincare Trends to Invest In This Spring” expect to see consumer demand for liquid chemical peels to skyrocket in the months ahead.

#2 • Athleisure skincare

It’s official: the athleisure trend has moved from the fashion runways and into the skincare aisle. This new class of skincare products are all designed to be worn at the gym or while exercising, and are set to explode in popularity over the next few months – in part because of their “natural” and “real” appeal to consumers.

Dubbed “Leggings for Your Face: easy, wearable, and oh-so-comfy,” athleisure skincare products focus on breathability, non-comedogenic formulations, and often offer resistance to sweat. Additionally, many athleisure skincare products are designed for post-exercise usage, and to aid in removing the debris, bacteria, and makeup that can build up and clog pores after a particularly sweaty gym session.

For consumers seeking products to tie into an overall “wellness” routine, or for those focused on green, clean beauty claims, athleisure skincare products will be sure to pique interest.

#3 • Skip-care with multipurpose ingredients

Consumers are ready to streamline their skincare routines with multipurpose hero products that deliver results – with less bathroom clutter. The impetus behind this simplified skincare trend for the spring? The recent boom in interest in the newest, trendiest Korean skincare method: “skip-care.”

Skip-care identifies only the essential ingredients for a skincare routine, in an attempt to help consumers avoid unnecessary products. Simply put, skip-care is about better skin, but with less investment of time and money.

“Korea specifically is a hotbed of ingredient innovation, new regimes and beauty tech, but it’s also renowned for its laborious, multi-step approach,” said Lisa Payne, senior beauty editor at global trends company Stylus, in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar. “(We’ll see)…a return to a more minimalist approach to beauty, this skincare ‘diet’ is all about using fewer, but harder-working items that contain higher concentrations of effective ingredients.”

The focus on skip-care, simplicity, and efficacy will make formulations that utilize multi-purpose ingredients like anti-aging, exfoliating, and acne banishing glycolic acid extra popular this spring.

#4 • Superfoods and natural antioxidants

Antioxidants, the naturally occurring compounds in fruits and vegetables that inhibit oxidation, are predicted to be a huge skincare focus this spring.

“Antioxidants — substances that fight the effects of environmental pollution and one of the hero ingredients of 2018— will also be further explored, with products on both ends of the accessibility spectrum,” according to beauty website The Zoe Report.

Experts predict skincare products that harness the natural powers of superfoods, or foods with extraordinarily high amounts of antioxidants, will sprout popularity this year as consumers continue to seek out green, natural claims skincare products.

Specifically, look for products containing superfoods like:

Turmeric

Quinoa

Red raspberry oil

Matcha

Marine algae

Pomegranate

Coconut oil

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